Saving the Birds
One day in spring four men were riding on horseback along a country road. These men were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to attend court.
There had been a rain, and the ground was very soft, Water was dripping from the trees, and the grass was wet.
The four lawyers rode along, one behind the other, for the pathway was narrow, and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly and talked and laughed and were very jolly.
As they were passing through a grove of small trees, they heard a great fluttering over their heads and a feeble chirping in the grass by the roadside
*Stith! stith! stith!" came the sound from the leafy branches above them.
*Cheep! cheep/cheep!" came the sound from the wet grass
"What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was Speed
"Oh, it's only some old robins," said the second lawyer. whose name was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest. They are too young to tly, and the mother bird is making a great fuss about it.
"What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third lawyer, whose name I forget.